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Tuesday, 14 July 2015

Finished Projects: Chunky Moss Stitch Cowl + Pattern

Right now we are just about in the middle of winter, experiencing some very, very cold weather. While most people are moaning about how cold it is, I actually like cooler weather. Mostly for one reason-- scarves! I just love wearing a scarf! Something about wrapping up and keeping warm really appeals to me. That and I felt like a scarf is the perfect fashion accessory which will brighten and add to any outfit. I have quite a significant collection of scarves, all different colours, lengths, textures and weights. I also love to knit scarves as they are SUPER easy and quick.

My first knitting projects were scarves. I started with this one, then fell in love with this super chunky coral wool, so made this one too. The funny thing about the coral one is that I made it, felt is was too chunky, unravelled it, knit it again, steam blocked it and still find it too heavy! So I am actually currently in the process of unravelling it AGAIN, and I will knit it again using this pattern. There are so many things that are great about knitting a chunky scarf. You don't need much yarn, it knits up super quick, and it's super warm due to the extra bulk. I also like that the weave of the stitches really loosens up after blocking so it actually isn't so heavy. The nice open weave of the moss stitch really works for this type of yarn.

The idea probably came from the "GAP-tastic" cowl which is a very popular pattern on Ravelry. The thing that puts me off making that cowl is casting on 131 stitches onto a circular needle. Yes, ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY ONE! The reason for this is to make a nice round circle that doesn't need a seam sewn together at the end. It also makes a HUGE cowl which I can imagine would be very heavy to wear. My version still creates a snuggly and plush neck-warmer, just without the huge bulk (Trust me when I say this, I used 6 skeins of coral coloured bulky yarn to make my first bulky cowl and my neck was sore after wearing it for a short while!)

These are just about all the colours of chunky yarn I have found so far. I've found them all at our local The Warehouse, they have a good selection. You can also buy some colours online, the style is "Largo". There are a couple of other colours but I think these are the best ones. So far I've used the Coral colour in the top right; the light grey on the middle left is the one I've used for the cover photo and close up of this post; In the middle photo, the purple/indigo blue I've used the most so far, making three cowls, the teal/peacock blue is in the bottom right of the photo above; the Magenta is probably my favourite colour, I used this to make a different style cowl; and the darker grey in the bottom right is currently on my needles!

Pattern: Chunky Moss Stitch Cowl/Infinity Scarf

Materials:

Approximately 3x 50g balls of bulky/chunky yarn

12mm knitting needles

Measuring tape

Tapestry needle for sewing in ends

Pattern:

Cast on 15 stitches using the long tail method (you can make your cowl wider by casting on more stitches, just make sure it's an odd number like 19 or 21).

Row 1: K1, P1 to the end of the row

Row 2-end: K1, P1 to end of the row

Continue in same pattern (K1, P1) until you have approximately 90cm of work, about 2 ½ balls of yarn.

Cast off, sew ends of scarf together into a circle, making sure the work is not twisted

I like to finish by steam blocking the scarf. By this I mean "iron" the scarf using a tea towel or thin cloth between the iron and your work. Use the steam shot function on your iron to dampen the scarf and work your way around the whole scarf. This helps to soften the yarn and loosen the weave. If you want a chunkier/plusher scarf you won't need to do this.

I highly recommend doing this project if you are a beginner, want a quick project or to teach kids to knit!

19 comments:

Fantastic post Marie, I love the look of the scarf on you and . I am seeing so many beautiful knitted items and have been reluctant to learn because it just seems so hard. Maybe this is the project to start learning with - once I figure out what a knit and a purl stitch are!?

I am tempted to delete my comment with that glaring typo - ungh! I have needles and a beginner's knitting book given to one of my daughters so there's really no excuse for me not to at least give it a try.

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Welcome!

Hello and Welcome! I'm Marie, and I'm writing about things that I've been making, baking and creating. I'm a Kiwi girl living in Wellington, New Zealand. I hope my little space inspires you to start making...things!